Hegelian Influence on Inferentialism, Plausibility and Limitations

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Guadalajara: Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

2 Lecturer and Researcher, Department of Philosophy, University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico

10.22034/jpiut.2026.21232

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to examine both the potential and limitations of Hegelianism in contemporary epistemology. To achieve this, the paper first explores Robert Brandom's interpretation of Phenomenology of Spirit in his 2019 work, Spirit of Trust. In this context, Hegel is positioned as a precursor to the holistic, historical, and social dimensions of belief, as well as a critic of the empiricist intuitions prevalent in modernity, aligning with the framework of American inferentialism. This section demonstrates that it is possible to discuss the constitution of concepts without invoking sensations or immediate knowledge. The paper then turns to the reception of Brandom’s proposal by scholars such as Richard Rorty and Slavoj Žižek, who concurs that Brandom falls short in maintaining a radical stance toward empiricism, and highlight the ethical and political challenges inherent in Brandom’s neo-Hegelian inferentialism. In this section, it becomes evident that Brandom’s concept of the Hegelian absolute and his notion of remembrance cannot be reconciled with a conception of reality as negative and contingent, a view that assumes progressiveness—something Žižek, in contrast, succeeds in recognizing within Hegel's philosophy.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Philosophical Investigations
Volume 20, Issue 54 - Serial Number 54
Articles
Issue 54, Spring 2026
February 2026
Pages 267-288

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